Laketown Township residents will be asked to pay more for police

Thursday

Aug 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMAug 28, 2008 at 5:22 AM

Laketown voters will be asked to pay for more police in the township.

The township board Wednesday, Aug. 13, approved language for a ballot proposal asking property owners for a 0.95-mill tax increase to double the number of contracted Allegan County Sheriff’s Office deputies assigned to patrol the township.

The millage would cost a homeowner with a $100,000 taxable value $95 annually in additional property taxes.

STEVE RALPH

Laketown voters will be asked to pay for more police in the township.

The township board Wednesday, Aug. 13, approved language for a ballot proposal asking property owners for a 0.95-mill tax increase to double the number of contracted Allegan County Sheriff’s Office deputies assigned to patrol the township.

The millage would cost a homeowner with a $100,000 taxable value $95 annually in additional property taxes.

“I think it’s an important thing for the township and I hope the residents support it,” said township Manager Al Meshkin.

He said there are recurring problems within the township, including graffiti and speeding.

The millage would pay for two — or possibly three — extra full-time deputies to supplement the two current full-time deputies assigned to the township, Meshkin said.

“I’m not going to say that we have this great crime spree going on, but we have incidents that come up from time to time. Just to have our own deputies here, we could greatly increase our response time and our follow-up abilities on cases,” he said.

Several township residents expressed reservations at the meeting about the need for additional police.

“A millage for more law enforcement doesn’t make sense,” said Cal DeMaagd.

“Holland, Saugatuck/Douglas, Allegan County and state police all pass in front of my house every day. We do not need more police protection,” he said.

“If you had attended the meetings wherein there was a presentation on the cost of accidents and crime, you would have been made aware of the data provided to support the need for additional preventative action,” responded township Supervisor Terry Hofmeyer.

DeMaagd pointed out that the last time the question came up for a vote it was defeated by more than a 2-to-1 ratio.

Meshkin responded that the 2005 vote had a small voter turn-out not representative of township residents.

“This year will be an election year, and the turn-out will likely be at 80 percent or more,” he said.
Allegan County Undersheriff Jim Hull said there is a need for the added officers in Laketown Township.

“Right now they have a population of more than 5,000. If you looked at a city of 5,000, they would probably have a police department of at least 10,” he said.

“There’s definitely a need. They have a lot of stuff going on in Laketown Township,” Hull added.
Hull cited an increase in violent crime, domestic violence and assaults due to the population increase, as well as Saugatuck-Douglas-area tourist traffic concerns, as reasons for adding more deputies.

The issue will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.